


Separation Anxiety

by radiowavemisfit



Series: Little Tony and Daddy Steve [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Play, Age Regression/De-Aging, Baby!Tony, Babysitting, Caretaker!Steve, Clint Is a Good Bro, Clint's an awesome babysitter, Cuddles, Daddy!Steve, Diapers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Time Babysitting, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Little!Tony, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Age Regression, Pacifiers, Separation Anxiety, Team as Family, Teddy Bears, Thumb-sucking, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wetting, and first time being babysat, and the first time Steve's leaving Tony when he's little, bottles, diaper changes, fairytales - Freeform, non-sexual infantilism, story time, there's a lot of firsts going on here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-18 08:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5911873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiowavemisfit/pseuds/radiowavemisfit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“If you’re feeling little, then I want to take care of you."<br/>“I don’t have to be little though, I can just wait ’til you come back.”</p>
<p>Tony tried really hard to fight it, Steve deserved to have a life that didn't revolve around taking care of his little. But when your headspace is pulling you in, it's not so easy to just ignore it. Clint steps in and offers to save the day, and Tony has his first babysitter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Separation Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

> So you know how sometimes you start writing something and it just keeps going? Yeah.

“Tony, it’s not a big deal, really.”

“No I can be big, I’ll be fine.”

“I can just reschedule. Sam will understand.”

“But that’s not fair to you. Or to Sam.” Tony put his face in his hands.

Steve pulled Tony’s hands down and he held them in his own. “If you’re feeling little, then I want to take care of you. You’re my priority, you know that.” Tony crossed his arms and scowled. He knew that the fight he was having with his headspace was not a fight he could win. He just hated that he was slipping into it when Steve had plans. He’d volunteered to speak at Sam’s support group at the VA, and he’d been looking forward to it.

“I don’t  _ have _ to be little though, I can just wait ’til you come back.”

“Tony,” Steve trailed off with a sigh.

“Okay, I’m sensing tension.” Steve and Tony turned to see Clint standing in the doorway of the living room. “Everything okay?”

Steve rubbed his temple. “Yeah.”

“No.” Tony looked at Steve pointedly.

“Oooh-kay?” Clint said, confused.

“Clint can you tell Steve to just go to the VA with Sam?” Tony whined. Before Clint could open his mouth, Steve spoke up.

“Tony if you’re gonna be little, I’m not leaving you by yourself.”

“I’ll be fine!”

“Guys,” Clint interrupted. “Tony won’t be by himself. I’ll hang out with you if you need to be little.”

“But I don’t!” Tony protested, and Steve gave him a look.

Steve turned to Clint. “You’d really do that?”

Clint nodded. “Of course, you should go. And I’m not an expert, but I don’t think Tony trying to be big when he’s not is very good for him.”

“Tony, is that okay with you?” Steve asked. Tony sighed and nodded, accepting that he wasn’t fooling anybody into thinking that he wasn’t teetering on the edge of his headspace. Steve ran his fingers through Tony’s hair, and that was what sent him right over the edge and just like that he was being absorbed by his headspace. “I’ve got some time before I have to leave, do you want me to get you all set, or do you want Clint to?”

“Daddy,” Tony said quietly, already trying to nuzzle into Steve’s side.

“Alright, baby,” Steve said, picking Tony up and holding him on his hip. “But Clint’s gonna come with us so he can see what he has to do. Okay?” Tony nodded into Steve’s shoulder. Clint followed as Steve carried Tony into the elevator and up to his floor. While they walked to the bedroom, Steve began telling Clint about taking care of Tony. “I’ll only be gone for a few hours, so he shouldn’t need to be changed more than once or twice, but he probably won’t tell you if he needs a change so you’ll wanna ask him once in awhile.  _ Someone _ doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal getting diaper rash-  _ again _ .” Tony squirmed with embarrassment in Steve’s arms. He definitely wasn’t looking forward to having Clint change him. Steve was the only one who ever changed his diapers.

“Okay, but I’ve never changed a diaper before.” Clint frowned.

Steve sat Tony down on the bed and grabbed a diaper bag from the closet. “It’s not hard, I’ll show you.” Steve laid out all of the supplies on the mattress and then got Tony undressed. He went through the diapering process a little slower than usual, explaining his steps so Clint would know what to do when his time came to do it, all the while Tony was blushing and squirming, not used to having an audience. Steve let Tony pick out his outfit (a set of wonderfully soft footie pajamas) and got him all zipped up.

After consulting with Tony, Steve and Clint agreed that it would be best to spend the day on Steve’s floor, since that’s where a majority of Tony’s little time was spent and it might make him feel more comfortable in Steve’s absence. Steve carried Tony into the living room, and Clint helped him spread a quilt out on the floor with a few of Tony’s stuffed animals. Tony immediately went for his favorite bear, cuddling it close to his chest and one of the bear’s off-white ears found its way into Tony’s mouth. Steve smiled, shaking his head fondly at his adorable little, and sat down behind him on the couch. Clint took a pacifier from the coffee table and offered it to Tony, figuring if he had to suck on something, the pacifier was probably a better idea. He couldn’t imagine a teddy bear tasted very good anyway. Tony allowed Clint to press the pacifier into his mouth. Steve smiled at Clint and nodded his approval, and Clint sat on the couch next to him.

“So, what kinda stuff do you like to do when you’re little?” Clint spoke to Tony, but he directed his question to Steve, knowing that Tony didn’t talk much when he was in his headspace.

“Well he really likes playing with his stuffed toys,” Steve said. “He would probably sit in that spot for a couple hours playing with them if I let him.”

Clint’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Really? I would think that he’d get bored pretty quickly, he usually doesn’t focus on one thing for too long.”

“When he’s in his headspace, he’s actually pretty chilled out, and he’s not constantly bouncing from one thing to another. But I still like to keep him occupied with different toys and activities.”

“Huh, that’s actually pretty interesting,” Clint said. “What else does he like to do?” He glanced down to see that Tony was sitting on the quilt, watching the two of them with big brown eyes while they had their conversation. The pacifier in his mouth was bobbing while he sucked on it and he was quiet, but he seemed content.

“He likes being read to, especially if it’s almost time for his nap, and it usually helps calm him down if he starts getting fussy.” Steve pointed to the drawer in the end table next to the couch. “He’s got a few books and some other toys in here, and probably some spare pacifiers, and the rest of his stuff is either in my room or the guest room, so feel free to look around if you need anything. JARVIS probably knows where whatever you’re looking for is.”

“Captain Rogers, sorry to interrupt, but you should get going so you can get to the VA in time,” JARVIS spoke up.

Steve glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.” He got off the couch and knelt down in front of Tony. “Hey sweetie, daddy’s gotta go see Sam now, okay?”

“Daddy,”  Tony said softly.

“I know, baby. Daddy’s gonna miss you so much, but you’re gonna have a lot of fun playing with Clint, okay? He’s gonna take really good care of you.” Steve pulled Tony into a hug and held him tight. He buried a kiss in Tony’s hair and smiled at him. “I love you, Tony.”

“Love you daddy,” Tony managed to say around the pacifier as he leaned into Steve for another hug.

Steve stood up slowly, and Tony didn’t take his eyes off of him. He turned to Clint. “I know JARVIS can help you, but please text me if you need anything or if something happens.”

“Nothing’s gonna happen. You go have fun talking at the VA, and we’re gonna have fun here.” Clint shooed Steve away with his hand.

Steve smiled. “Alright, just don’t forget he’ll need his bottle in about an hour, and-”

“Steve,” Clint sing-songed, and gestured toward the elevator.

“Right. Okay, thank you again Clint, I really appreciate it. Bye Tony.” Steve gave Tony a small wave and reluctantly got into the elevator and left.

Clint slid off the couch and sat beside Tony on the quilt. He gently reached out and pet the teddy bear that Tony still had in his lap. The bear wasn’t furry, instead it was made out of a soft fabric and was well-worn in some places. “Does your teddy have a name?”

Tony looked up at him and nodded, taking the pacifier out of his mouth long enough to answer. “Cookie.”

“That’s a great name.” Clint held the teddy bear’s paw and shook it very official-like. “It’s very nice to meet you, Cookie. My name’s Clint.” That had Tony giggling. It was quiet, but it warmed Clint’s heart and the smile that spread behind Tony’s pacifier made him feel like they were going to have a good time together.

\---------

The first hour went by without a hitch. Not long into hour two, it got a little rough.

“Are you okay with waiting in here while I get your bottle?” Clint asked. Tony nodded, climbing up on the couch and settling into the cushions. “Alright, I’ll be right back.” Clint went off to the kitchen to warm up Tony’s afternoon bottle, just as Steve had instructed. But when he brought it back to the living room, he saw Tony was anxiously sucking on his pacifier and looking a little teary. Clint sat down next to him and set the bottle on the coffee table, and started rubbing Tony’s back. “What’s wrong?”

“Daddy,” Tony whimpered. Without the distraction of playing with Clint, even for just a few minutes, his mind went right back to thinking about Steve.

Clint smiled sadly. “I bet you miss him a whole lot, huh? He’s gonna be so happy when I tell him how good you’re being though.” Clint felt really bad for Tony. He knew what it was like being little, not as little as Tony, but little nonetheless, and he knew how hard it was to not be with your daddy, and it was probably even worse for Tony _ because _ of just how little he was. Whenever Tony was in his headspace, Steve did everything he could to be with him the whole time. This was the first time Tony ever had a babysitter, and the first time Clint ever babysat  _ anyone _ , so they were both out of their comfort zones.

Tony started to sniffle, and a big round tear ran down his cheek. Clint brushed the tear away with his thumb and pulled Tony into his side, putting his arm around him.

“It’s alright, he’ll be back before you know it,” Clint said in a soothing voice. “Your milk’s gonna get cold.”

Tony took the pacifier out of his mouth, picking up on Clint’s message. He reached his hands toward the bottle, and Clint gave it to him. Clint kept one hand on it to help support it. Tony let his eyelids slip shut as he sucked at the warm milk. He wanted to pretend that he was with his daddy, that his daddy was holding him in his strong arms. But Clint was smaller, he wasn’t much bigger than Tony really, and it just wasn’t the same. It was nice, but he wanted nothing more than for his daddy to come home.

Clint shook Tony gently. “Hey kiddo, you’re dozing off there.” He pulled the bottle from Tony’s mouth and looked down at him. Tony blinked, his eyes bleary, having almost fallen asleep. “You’ve still got some of this milk left, you wanna finish it?” Tony shook his head. Clint reached to set the bottle on the table. “You seem pretty sleepy, how does a nap sound?” Tony nodded and yawned. “Do you want to go lay down in bed?”

Tony shook his head. “Here,” he said in a soft voice, and it sounded more like a question than a statement.

“Yeah, you can nap here if you want.”

Tony looked up at him with his big brown eyes. “Stay?”

“I’ll stay.” Clint pulled a pillow onto his lap and patted it, inviting Tony to make himself comfortable. Tony shifted so that he was laying down, all nice and curled up, with his head on the pillow. Clint pulled one of Tony’s soft baby blankets off the back of the couch and draped it over him.

As Tony laid there, he realized that he had no idea where his pacifier has gotten to. He remembered taking it out right before he had his bottle, but he must’ve let go of it without noticing, and now he didn’t have it. He was about to bring his thumb up to his mouth when he felt a familiar little piece of rubber brushing against his lips. He opened his mouth to receive the pacifier and he turned his head to look up at Clint. The archer smiled at him and winked.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this whole babysitting thing,” He said as he ran his fingers through Tony’s hair, and Tony sighed and let himself drift off.

\---------

When Tony woke up, he had no idea how long he’d been asleep for, but he felt refreshed and comfy and happy. Clint fingers were no longer brushing through his hair, but he could feel that his arm was draped around him. Tony shifted ever-so-slightly, stretching out his legs.

Clint rubbed his arm through the blanket and looked down at him. “Hey Sleeping Beauty,” he teased.

Tony made a face at him and wiped at the bit of dried drool coming from the corner of his mouth, and he slowly sat up. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned, the pacifier having fallen out of his mouth while he was sleeping. Once he shook the sleepy-fog out of his head, he only had one thing on his mind. “Daddy?”

“He texted me while you were napping, he said he’ll probably be back in a hour, an hour and a half at the most.” Clint said. He didn’t tell him that he told Steve that he should take Sam up on his offer for lunch after the meeting. He felt bad that Tony would have to wait longer for his daddy, but he knew that Tony would agree that Steve deserved some time to hang out with his friends. When he saw Tony’s shoulders slump, he added, “I bet we can make that time fly by, though. Your daddy said that you like stories, do you wanna look at a book?” Tony pondered it for a moment, and then nodded, deciding that a story sounded like a nice idea. “Before we do that, I’m afraid I gotta ask.” Tony furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Do you need to be changed?”

Tony could feel his cheeks heating up as he shrunk in on himself. He did not want to answer that question, because as he squirmed he could feel that the answer was yes. He thought about saying no, waiting until his daddy was home so  _ he _ could change him, and pretend that he hadn’t wet his diaper until just before then. But his tummy felt icky just thinking about lying to Clint, and how disappointed his daddy would be if he found out. And he probably would. His daddy was very smart and good at telling when Tony wasn’t being honest.

“Should I take your silence as a ‘yes’ then?” Clint asked, giving Tony a sympathetic smile. Tony’s blanket was still draped around his shoulders and he quickly pulled it over his head. “Tony, your daddy said that if you’re wet, you gotta get changed right away so you don’t get a rash.”

“No,” Tony said from under his fleecy hiding spot.

“Tony.” Clint lifted the corner of the blanket and peeked at him. “Come on.”

“No!” Tony was whining now. He knew he was whining, but he didn’t really care. He pulled the blanket off of his head and it landed in a heap on the floor. “Want daddy.”

“I know you want your daddy, but he won’t be home for a little while.”

And then the tears started. The floodgates burst and in an instant Tony’s shoulders were trembling and he started sobbing. “No.” His voice cracked as he cried.

Clint gently pulled Tony into a hug and shushed him softly. “It’s okay kiddo, it’s okay.” Tony didn’t return the hug, but he nuzzled himself into the embrace. Clint held him close, rubbing his back. Soon enough, his sobs died down to sniffles and hiccups, and Clint pulled away and looked at him. “Are you alright?” Tony nodded, rubbing his eyes with his hands. Clint reached down and grabbed Tony’s bear from the quilt on the floor where he’d been been playing earlier. He held the bear out. “I know you don’t want to, but you gotta get changed, okay? You can bring Cookie with you if you want.”

Tony took the bear, clutching it to his chest, and he gave Clint a resigned, “‘kay.” He slipped his thumb into his mouth and waited for Clint’s instructions.

Clint picked up Tony’s pacifier, which had fallen on the floor while he was asleep, and he scrunched his nose in disgust when he saw that there were little pieces of carpet fuzz stuck to the rubber. He set the pacifier on the coffee table and shrugged. “I guess your thumb is okay for now, we’ll find you a non-furry pacifier later.”

Now Clint may not be much taller than Tony, but with the ease with which he scooped him up, you’d think the archer had at least a foot on him. Clint carried Tony into Steve’s bedroom and sat him down on the bed while he got what he needed out of the diaper bag. He spread the changing pad out and Tony wordlessly got himself situated on it. Before Clint could even begin unzipping Tony’s onesie, Tony had Cookie nuzzled up to his face, hiding the blush that was coloring his cheeks. Clint smiled and began maneuvering the pajamas off, in hindsight realizing that he should’ve done it before having Tony lay down, and making a note in his head to remember that for the next time. Before he undid the tapes on the diaper, he took an exaggerated breath.

“Alright, I guess this is a first for the both of us, huh?” Clint said. “Your first time having me change you, and my first time changing a diaper. I’ll try to not screw this up, okay?” Tony peeked around his teddy bear with his big puppy-dog eyes, and Clint smiled at him. “Now your daddy makes this look really easy, but it can’t be  _ that _ hard, right? I’m freakin’ Hawkeye, I can totally change a diaper.” He took another deep breath and cracked his knuckles. He could hear Tony giggling quietly at his rambling and the room suddenly seemed a lot less tense.  _ Mission accomplished. _ “Nope, it can’t be that hard.” He muttered to himself. He peeled the tapes back and undid the diaper. He hadn’t seen this part, but thankfully it was pretty straightforward and he balled it up and put it on the floor. Clint slid the new diaper under Tony, and went over in his head the steps Steve went through and he copied them, using the wipes, followed by powder, and then he taped the diaper up. “There, that wasn’t too bad, was it?” Tony shook his head, his thumb still in his mouth. There was still a light blush on his face. Clint picked up the wet diaper. “I’m gonna go throw this away and wash my hands, I’ll be right back.” Clint walked into the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom, dropping the diaper in the trash and scrubbing his hands with soap and water. Was it hard changing a diaper? No. Was it still kinda gross? Absolutely.

When he went back into the bedroom, Tony was sitting in the middle of the bed with his arms and legs back in the pajamas and the zipper undone. “Wan’ed to help,” he explained when he saw Clint’s confused (and amused) face.

“Thanks kiddo, you did a great job,” Clint praised. He zipped the onesie up, and put the supplies back in the diaper bag. “Are you ready for that story?” Tony nodded eagerly, holding his arms out to Clint. Clint picked him up, grabbing Cookie as well, and went back into the living room. He set Tony and the bear down on the couch. “Okay, your daddy said that there were some books in here,” Clint said, opening the deep drawer in the end table. He dug through a few toys to the books that were sitting at the bottom and he pulled them out, sitting them on the coffee table. He glanced at Tony, seeing the way he was eying the fuzz-covered pacifier on the table, and he turned back to the drawer, where he found a clean one. He held it out to Tony with a smile, and when Tony took it in his mouth Clint sat beside him on the couch and ruffled his hair. He spread the books out across the coffee table. “Alright, which story sounds good to you?” Tony looked over the selection thoughtfully. Clint recognized some of them from when he was a kid, and some that he must’ve heard mentioned somewhere;  _ Goodnight Moon _ ,  _ If You Give a Mouse a Cookie _ , there was a big storybook filled with a collection of classic stories that were altered for young children to be more kid-friendly. Tony made his decision and pointed to a colorful paperback,  _ Falling for Rapunzel _ . Clint never took Tony for someone who enjoyed fairytales, but the way the corners of the book were worn and the spine was broken in, he could tell that this book had to be a favorite of his. “That looks like a very good choice.” Clint picked the book up and settled in next to Tony. Tony made himself comfortable, cuddling up to Clint’s side as he opened the book and began reading. “ _ Once upon a bad hair day...” _

Evidently, Clint was really,  _ really _ good at reading stories. He used different silly voices for each character, and he had Tony giggling the entire time. By the time they got through the book, Tony was in such a great mood, all smiles. His mood only improved when, a few minutes after Clint laid the book down on the table, the elevator doors slid open and Steve and Sam stepped out.

Tony let his pacifier fall into his lap. “Daddy!”

Steve smiled wide and hurried over to the couch and scooped Tony up. “Hey baby. Oh, I missed you so much.” Steve kissed Tony’s forehead.

“Missed you too,” Tony said, wrapping his arms tightly around his daddy.

“You didn’t give Clint too hard of a time, did you?” He asked playfully. Tony shook his head, looking toward Clint.

Clint stood up and patted Tony on the back. “He was great. We had fun, right?” Tony nodded. “I think he missed you though, just a little bit.”

“Yeah, and I think Steve might’ve missed Tony a little bit too,” Sam said. “I’m surprised I managed to get him to grab some food after Group, I thought for sure he’d just run back here as soon as the meeting was over.”

“I guess it was a tough day for the both of them. But look at them now, reunited at last.” Clint clasped his hands under his chin.

“It’s so sweet,” Sam agreed, laughing. Steve shot them a look, but said nothing as he held Tony just a little bit tighter. While he did have a nice time with Sam, he didn’t see himself calling for another sitter any time soon.

**Author's Note:**

> What's this? Clint knows what it's like being little? Well well well, we'll have to see what happens there ;3
> 
> I had waaay too much fun writing this, so I hope you liked reading it!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated, let me know what you thought :D Hit me up [on Tumblr](http://noootheghouls.tumblr.com) if you have a request for something with Little!Tony (or anything really, but especially Avengers NSAP~) or if you'd be interested in a fic-exchange! I'm always up for a fic-exchange, they're so much fun ^_^
> 
> (Also, "Falling for Rapunzel" is like the cutest little story ever. Just saying.)


End file.
